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Previews Pulse

A chord used in trailers to build up mystery and suspense.

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Trailers love to play up excitement and mystery, and one favorite way to do this by tickling the ears with an unusual sound. One of these sounds is the Previews Pulse. It is often created by an instrument known as a blaster beam which creates a single chord which ends up sounding technological and mysterious. Other methods are through mixing several instruments, usually bass, or altering the sound of a horn.

These "pulses" are used in trailers to create a feeling of sudden tension, similar to a Scare Chord, but are rarely used in the movie itself, as it may be distracting. A trailer that uses them is often made up of rapidly cut snippets, with the chord announcing with each new scene.

Examples

The Deep Note is the Ur-ominous sound before nearly every movie. You may know it better as the THX sound effect. Its ominousness comes from the fact that it sounds louder than it actually is, since it's made of a spectrum of frequencies that grow from small to large.

Diablo Swing Orchestra's "Justice for Saint Mary" (the final track off Pandora's Pinata). At 5:45 into the song, just after the final chorus, there are two low-pitched trombone notes, signaling to the listener that the song is about to kick it up a notch.

According to That Other Wiki, "The Blaster Beam is a concept electronic musical instrument consisting of a 12 to 18-foot (5.5 m) long metal beam strung with numerous tensed wires under which are mounted electric guitar pickups which can be moved to alter the sound produced. The instrument is played by striking or plucking the strings with fingers, sticks, pipes or even large objects such as artillery shell casings. The instrument produces a very distinctive bass tone, the sound of which is often described as 'dark' or 'sinister'."

Besides, an orchestral hit is what you hear, say, in Owner of a Lonely Heart, not the Blaster Beam sound effect.

Alright then. I think I actually recall seeing production vids of Ben Burtt using such an instrument. But they were using it for blaster sound effects. This is about its use in trailers or movies to create fear, and the title sounds misleading now.

Then what can we do to differentiate it? If it's called Blaster Beam, it's going to be mistaken for laser weapons. It should be something focused on its use to create an ominous feel. Hmm. Previews Pulse? Bwoong?

Hmm, not sure. From researching it, I find it's called the Deep Note and is made up of many synthesized sounds. The THX logo is sort of a preview, so if there's no objections I could perhaps include it.

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 example is more of an Orchestra Hit than something matching the trope. I'm yanking it.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: In the episode Final Justice, the SOL crew somehow--apparently by accident--rig up their sound system so that anytime one of them says the words "the owner of a lonely heart", they get bombarded by the chord from the Yes song of the same name.

I thought of one, but I'll leave it up to your judgement of whether it qualifies.

Music

Diablo Swing Orchestra's "Justice for Saint Mary" (the final track off Pandora's Pinata). At 5:45 into the song, just after the final chorus, there are two low-pitched trombone notes, signaling to the listener that the song is about to kick it up a notch.

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